Calves are the young of domestic
cattleCattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...
. Calves are reared to become adult cattle, or are slaughtered for their meat, called
vealVeal is the meat of young cattle , as opposed to meat from older cattle. Though veal can be produced from a calf of either sex and any breed, most veal comes from male calves of dairy cattle breeds...
.
Terminology
"Calf" is the term used from birth to
weaningWeaning is the process of gradually introducing a mammal infant, either human or animal, to what will be its adult diet and withdrawing the supply of its mother's milk.The process takes place only in mammals, as only mammals produce milk...
, when it becomes known as a
weaner or
weaner calf, though in some areas the term "calf" may be used until the animal is a
yearlingYearling may refer to:*Yearling , an animal in its second year of life.**Yearling , a horse between one and two years of age.in titles or proper names:*Yearling Books, an imprint of the publishing company Random House....
. The birth of a calf is known as
calving. A calf that has lost its mother is an orphan calf, also known as a
poddy or
poddy-calf in British English.
Bobby calves are young calves which are to be slaughtered for human consumption. A
vealer is a fat calf weighing less than about 330 kg (727.5 lb) which is at about eight to nine months of age. A young female calf from birth until she has had a calf of her own is called a
heifer
(ˈ). In the
American Old WestThe American Old West, or the Wild West, comprises the history, geography, people, lore, and cultural expression of life in the Western United States, most often referring to the latter half of the 19th century, between the American Civil War and the end of the century...
, a motherless or small, runty calf was sometimes referred to as a
dogie, though in the classic traditional folk song,
Dogie's Lament, also known as
Git along little dogie, the "dogies" in question meant cattle strong enough to be herded from Texas to Wyoming, including weaners, yearling steers and other young, non-orphaned animals.
The term "calf" is also used for some other species. See "Other animals" below.
Early development
Calves may be produced by natural means, or by artificial breeding using
artificial inseminationArtificial insemination, or AI, is the process by which sperm is placed into the reproductive tract of a female for the purpose of impregnating the female by using means other than sexual intercourse or natural insemination...
or
embryo transferEmbryo transfer refers to a step in the process of assisted reproduction in which embryos are placed into the uterus of a female with the intent to establish a pregnancy...
.
Calves are born after a
gestationGestation is the carrying of an embryo or fetus inside a female viviparous animal. Mammals during pregnancy can have one or more gestations at the same time ....
of nine months. They usually stand within a few minutes of calving, and suckle within an hour. However, for the first few days they are not easily able to keep up with the rest of the herd, so young calves are often left hidden by their mothers, who visit them several times a day to suckle them. By a week old the calf is able to follow the mother all the time.
Some calves are ear tagged soon after birth, especially those that are stud cattle in order to correctly identify their dams (mothers), or in areas (such as the
EUThe European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
) where tagging is a legal requirement for cattle. A calf must have the very best of everything until it is at least eight months old if it is to reach its maximum potential. Typically when the calves are about two months old they are branded, ear marked, castrated and vaccinated.
Calf rearing systems
The
single suckler system of rearing calves is similar to that occurring naturally in wild cattle, where each calf is suckled by its own mother until it is weaned at about nine months old. This system is commonly used for rearing
beef cattleBeef cattle are cattle raised for meat production . The meat of cattle is known as beef. When raised in a feedlot cattle are known as feeder cattle. Many such feeder cattle are born in cow-calf operations specifically designed to produce beef calves...
throughout the world.
Cows kept on poor forage (as is typical in subsistence farming) produce a limited amount of milk. A calf left with such a mother all the time can easily drink all the milk, leaving none for human consumption. For dairy production under such circumstances, the calf's access to the cow must be limited, for example by penning the calf and bringing the mother to it once a day after partly milking her. The small amount of milk available for the calf under such systems may mean that it takes a longer time to rear, and in subsistence farming it is therefore common for cows to calve only in alternate years.
In more intensive
dairy farmingDairy farming is a class of agricultural, or an animal husbandry, enterprise, for long-term production of milk, usually from dairy cows but also from goats and sheep, which may be either processed on-site or transported to a dairy factory for processing and eventual retail sale.Most dairy farms...
, cows can easily be bred and fed to produce far more milk than one calf can drink. In the
multi-suckler system, several calves are fostered onto one cow in addition to her own, and these calves' mothers can then be used wholly for milk production. More commonly, calves of dairy cows are reared artificially, being fed formula milk from a bottle or bucket from soon after birth.
Purebred female calves of
dairy cowDairy cattle are cattle cows bred for the ability to produce large quantities of milk, from which dairy products are made. Dairy cows generally are of the species Bos taurus....
s are reared as replacement dairy cows. Most purebred dairy calves are produced by artificial insemination (AI). By this method each bull can serve very many cows, so only a very few of the purebred dairy male calves are needed to provide bulls for breeding. The remainder of the male calves may be reared for beef or veal; however, some extreme dairy breeds carry so little muscle that rearing the purebred male calves may be uneconomic, and in this case they are often killed soon after birth and disposed of. Only a proportion of purebred heifers are needed to provide replacement cows, so often some of the cows in dairy herds are put to a beef bull to produce crossbred calves suitable for rearing as beef.
Veal calves may be reared entirely on milk formula and killed at about 18 or 20 weeks as "white" veal, or fed on grain and hay and killed at 22 to 35 weeks to produce red or pink veal.
Growth
A commercial steer or bull calf is expected to put on about 32 to 36 kg (70.5 to 79.4 lb) per month. A nine-month-old steer or bull is therefore expected to weigh about 250 to 270 kg (551.2 to 595.2 lb). Heifers will weigh at least 200 kg (440.9 lb) at eight months of age.
Calves are usually weaned at about eight to nine months of age, depending on the season and condition of the dam, they might be weaned earlier. They may be paddock weaned, often next to their mothers, or weaned in
stockyardsA feedlot or feedyard is a type of animal feeding operation which is used in factory farming for finishing livestock, notably beef cattle, but also swine, horses, sheep, turkeys, chickens or ducks, prior to slaughter. Large beef feedlots are called Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations . They...
. The latter system is preferred by some as it accustoms the weaners to the presence of people and they are trained to take feed other than grass. Small numbers may also be weaned with their dams with the use of weaning
nose ringA nose ring is a ring made of metal designed to be installed through the nasal septum of domestic cattle, usually bulls. Nose rings are often required for bulls when exhibited at agricultural shows. There also is a clip-on ring design used for controlling other cattle for showing or handling...
s or nosebands which results in the mothers rejecting the calves' attempts to suckle. Many calves are also weaned when they are taken to the large weaner
auctionAn auction is a process of buying and selling goods or services by offering them up for bid, taking bids, and then selling the item to the highest bidder...
sales that are conducted in the south eastern states of
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. Victoria and
New South WalesNew South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
have yardings of up to 8,000 weaners (calves) for
auctionAn auction is a process of buying and selling goods or services by offering them up for bid, taking bids, and then selling the item to the highest bidder...
sale in one day. The best of these weaners may go to the butchers. Others will be purchased by re-stockers to grow out and fatten on grass or as potential breeders. In the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
these weaners may be known as
feeders and would be placed directly into
feedlotA feedlot or feedyard is a type of animal feeding operation which is used in factory farming for finishing livestock, notably beef cattle, but also swine, horses, sheep, turkeys, chickens or ducks, prior to slaughter. Large beef feedlots are called Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations . They...
s.
At about 12 months old a beef heifer reaches puberty if she is well grown.
Diseases
Calves suffer from few congenital abnormalities but the
Akabane virusThe Akabane virus is an insect-transmitted virus that causes congenital abnormalities of the central nervous systems in ruminants.-Virus:Two viruses, both arthropod borne, have been implicated in the cause of these congenital defects: Akabane virus, named after the district in Japan where it was...
is widely distributed in
temperateIn geography, temperate or tepid latitudes of the globe lie between the tropics and the polar circles. The changes in these regions between summer and winter are generally relatively moderate, rather than extreme hot or cold...
to
tropicalThe tropics is a region of the Earth surrounding the Equator. It is limited in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the northern hemisphere at approximately N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the southern hemisphere at S; these latitudes correspond to the axial tilt of the Earth...
regions of the world. The virus is a teratogenic pathogen which causes
abortionAbortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
s, stillbirths, premature births and congenital abnormalities, but occurs only during some years.
Uses of calves
Calf meat for
humanHumans are the only living species in the Homo genus...
consumption is called
vealVeal is the meat of young cattle , as opposed to meat from older cattle. Though veal can be produced from a calf of either sex and any breed, most veal comes from male calves of dairy cattle breeds...
; also eaten are
calf's brainsCalf's brains, or cervelle de veau, is a traditional delicacy in Europe and Morocco. It is the brain of a calf consumed as meat. It is often served with tongue, sauteed with beurre noir and capers, or mixed with scrambled eggs ....
and calf liver. The
hideA hide is an animal skin treated for human use. Hides include leather from cattle and other livestock animals, alligator skins, snake skins for shoes and fashion accessories and furs from wild cats, mink and bears. In some areas, leather is produced on a domestic or small industrial scale, but most...
is used to make
calfskinCalfskin is a leather or membrane produced from the hide of a calf. Calfskin is particularly valuable because of its softness, and non fine grain. It is commonly used for high-quality shoes, wallets and similar products, as well as traditional leather bookbindings...
, or tanned into leather and called "Novillo," Spanish for steer. The fourth compartment of the stomach of slaughtered milk-fed calves is the source of
rennetRennet is a complex of enzymes produced in any mammalian stomach to digest the mother's milk, and is often used in the production of cheese. Rennet contains many enzymes, including a proteolytic enzyme that coagulates the milk, causing it to separate into solids and liquid...
. The
intestineIn human anatomy, the intestine is the segment of the alimentary canal extending from the pyloric sphincter of the stomach to the anus and, in humans and other mammals, consists of two segments, the small intestine and the large intestine...
is used to make
Goldbeater's skinGoldbeater's skin — the outer membrane of calf's intestine — is a parchment traditionally used in the process of making gold leaf by beating, reducing gold into mere 1μm-thick leaves....
, and is the source of
Calf Intestinal Alkaline Phosphatase (CIP)Calf-intestinal alkaline phosphatase is an enzyme that catalyzes the 5' phosphate group's removal, dephosphorylation, from DNA . This enzyme is frequently used in DNA sub-cloning, because DNA fragments that lack the 5' phosphoryl termini cannot self-ligate...
.
Dairy cows can only produce milk after having calved, and so every dairy cow is allowed to produce one calf each year throughout her productive life. On average one of these calves will become a replacement dairy cow, and some of the rest may be reared for beef or veal; however some are effectively produced solely to allow the cow to produce milk.
Other animals
In
EnglishEnglish is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
the term "calf" is used by extension for the young of various other large species of
mammalMammals are members of a class of air-breathing vertebrate animals characterised by the possession of endothermy, hair, three middle ear bones, and mammary glands functional in mothers with young...
. In addition to other
cattleThe biological subfamily Bovinae includes a diverse group of 10 genera of medium to large sized ungulates, including domestic cattle, the bison, African buffalo, the water buffalo, the yak, and the four-horned and spiral-horned antelopes...
(such as
bisonMembers of the genus Bison are large, even-toed ungulates within the subfamily Bovinae. Two extant and four extinct species are recognized...
,
yakThe yak, Bos grunniens or Bos mutus, is a long-haired bovine found throughout the Himalayan region of south Central Asia, the Tibetan Plateau and as far north as Mongolia and Russia. In addition to a large domestic population, there is a small, vulnerable wild yak population...
and
water buffaloThe water buffalo is a domesticated bovid widely kept in Asia, Europe and South America.Water buffalo can also refer to:*Wild water buffalo , the wild ancestor of the domestic water buffalo...
), these include the young of
camelA camel is an even-toed ungulate within the genus Camelus, bearing distinctive fatty deposits known as humps on its back. There are two species of camels: the dromedary or Arabian camel has a single hump, and the bactrian has two humps. Dromedaries are native to the dry desert areas of West Asia,...
s,
dolphinDolphins are marine mammals that are closely related to whales and porpoises. There are almost forty species of dolphin in 17 genera. They vary in size from and , up to and . They are found worldwide, mostly in the shallower seas of the continental shelves, and are carnivores, mostly eating...
s,
elephantElephants are large land mammals in two extant genera of the family Elephantidae: Elephas and Loxodonta, with the third genus Mammuthus extinct...
s,
giraffeThe giraffe is an African even-toed ungulate mammal, the tallest of all extant land-living animal species, and the largest ruminant...
s,
hippopotamusThe hippopotamus , or hippo, from the ancient Greek for "river horse" , is a large, mostly herbivorous mammal in sub-Saharan Africa, and one of only two extant species in the family Hippopotamidae After the elephant and rhinoceros, the hippopotamus is the third largest land mammal and the heaviest...
es, larger deer (such as
mooseThe moose or Eurasian elk is the largest extant species in the deer family. Moose are distinguished by the palmate antlers of the males; other members of the family have antlers with a dendritic configuration...
,
elkThe Elk is the large deer, also called Cervus canadensis or wapiti, of North America and eastern Asia.Elk may also refer to:Other antlered mammals:...
(wapiti) and
red deerThe red deer is one of the largest deer species. Depending on taxonomy, the red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Asia Minor, parts of western Asia, and central Asia. It also inhabits the Atlas Mountains region between Morocco and Tunisia in northwestern Africa, being...
),
rhinocerosRhinoceros , also known as rhino, is a group of five extant species of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. Two of these species are native to Africa and three to southern Asia....
es,
porpoisePorpoises are small cetaceans of the family Phocoenidae; they are related to whales and dolphins. They are distinct from dolphins, although the word "porpoise" has been used to refer to any small dolphin, especially by sailors and fishermen...
s,
whaleWhale is the common name for various marine mammals of the order Cetacea. The term whale sometimes refers to all cetaceans, but more often it excludes dolphins and porpoises, which belong to suborder Odontoceti . This suborder also includes the sperm whale, killer whale, pilot whale, and beluga...
s and larger
sealPinnipeds or fin-footed mammals are a widely distributed and diverse group of semiaquatic marine mammals comprising the families Odobenidae , Otariidae , and Phocidae .-Overview: Pinnipeds are typically sleek-bodied and barrel-shaped...
s.
See also
- Akabane virus
The Akabane virus is an insect-transmitted virus that causes congenital abnormalities of the central nervous systems in ruminants.-Virus:Two viruses, both arthropod borne, have been implicated in the cause of these congenital defects: Akabane virus, named after the district in Japan where it was...
- Beef cattle
Beef cattle are cattle raised for meat production . The meat of cattle is known as beef. When raised in a feedlot cattle are known as feeder cattle. Many such feeder cattle are born in cow-calf operations specifically designed to produce beef calves...
- Black Hereford
The Black Hereford is a hybrid type of beef cattle produced in the British Isles by crossing a Hereford beef bull with Holstein-Friesian dairy cows. Black Herefords are not usually maintained from generation to generation, but are constantly produced as a byproduct of dairy farming...
- Bovine genome
75px|left|The genome of a female Hereford cow has been sequenced by the Bovine Genome Sequencing and Analysis Consortium, a team of researchers led by the National Institutes of Health and the U.S...
- Cattle
Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...
- Dairy
A dairy is a business enterprise established for the harvesting of animal milk—mostly from cows or goats, but also from buffalo, sheep, horses or camels —for human consumption. A dairy is typically located on a dedicated dairy farm or section of a multi-purpose farm that is concerned...
- Dairy cattle
Dairy cattle are cattle cows bred for the ability to produce large quantities of milk, from which dairy products are made. Dairy cows generally are of the species Bos taurus....
- Dairy farming
Dairy farming is a class of agricultural, or an animal husbandry, enterprise, for long-term production of milk, usually from dairy cows but also from goats and sheep, which may be either processed on-site or transported to a dairy factory for processing and eventual retail sale.Most dairy farms...
- Heifer
Heifer may refer to:*A young cow before she has had her first calf*Red Heifer, in Judaism is a heifer that is sacrificed and whose ashes are used for the ritual purification*Heifer International, a charitable organization...
- Farming
- Lactation
Lactation describes the secretion of milk from the mammary glands and the period of time that a mother lactates to feed her young. The process occurs in all female mammals, however it predates mammals. In humans the process of feeding milk is called breastfeeding or nursing...
- Milking
Milking is the act of removing milk from the mammary glands of an animal, typically cows , water buffalo, goats, sheep and more rarely camels, horses and donkeys. Milking may be done by hand or by machine.-Hand milking:...
External links